THE existing Bathurst Ambulance Station will be back in Bathurst Regional Council’s hands, and for almost no cost.
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Member for Bathurst Paul Toole revealed on Thursday that, after a lot of discussion, the NSW Government would be selling the soon-to-be-replaced facility to council at a minuscule price.
“The current Bathurst Ambulance Station will be sold to Bathurst Regional Council for $1,” he said.
He said the NSW Government always knew that the building was going to become vacant once the new ambulance station was constructed and “this is something I’ve been working on in the background to achieve for the community.”
Mr Toole explained that $1 had to be charged so an official transaction is shown to have taken place.
The good news comes after deputy mayor Bobby Bourke last month led calls for the government to gift the building to council, saying the community had paid for it.
Records from the 1920s documented that the facility was funded by the community from various fundraising events, while the land was gifted to NSW Ambulance by Bathurst Regional Council.
Mr Toole said this was a unique circumstance and for that reason it was only right that it be given back to the community.
“As part of the sale there is a restriction that there must be a predominant use of the building for community purposes, but it will allow for some commercial use within the building,” he said.
“If Bathurst Regional Council accepts the offer, they will need to keep [the building] for the next 15 years.”
While it will be up to council to decide how the building is used, Mr Toole felt it would be good to see community groups given access to the site.
“As I’ve moved around the area, I’ve seen there are many community groups in the Bathurst area that have grown and I think the Bathurst Ambulance Station will provide a great opportunity for them to branch out and use the building,” he said.
The existing ambulance station will become vacant in early 2019, after NSW Ambulance moves into its new facility in Commonwealth Street.
Cr Bourke, who found out the good news on Thursday afternoon, said he was very thankful to Mr Toole for his quick action on this matter and thrilled for the outcome.
“To get one of our iconic buildings in the main street of Bathurst back in council’s hands, you’ve got to welcome that with open arms,” he said.
However, he doesn’t share the same strong opinion as Mr Toole on the future use of the building.
Cr Bourke said there would be community use, but council needed to think carefully about the commercial potential for the building, as it is situated in the central business district.
“We’ve got to look at it really seriously,” he said.
Both Cr Bourke and his colleague Cr Alex Christian have looked at the building and recognise that it will need work before it can be repurposed, but they hope that it can be utilised not long after it becomes vacant.
“I’m going to make it a priority. Myself and Cr Christian have been down there for a look,” Cr Bourke said.
“It needs to be updated right throughout, and like bats and CCTV, we won’t give up.”